First clip used in Yankees' Cody Bellinger return video cannot be an accident

Eventually, the 2025 New York Yankees season turned. They swooned during the summer, as Aaron Boone teams are wont to do. The Toronto Blue Jays overwhelmed them. So did the Boston Red Sox. So did the Texas Rangers (until the finale). There was an awful two-month stretch where the Yankees repeatedly let their direct opponents pass them in the playoff race until their coronation had gone from "inevitable" to "questioned" to "perilously far away".

But there were moments when everything seemed perfect, many of them clustered in the season's first two months. There was evidence of a plan coming together. There was poetic baseball. And there was obvious, almost literary, symbolism at every turn.

The exclamation point that likely stood out the most was Cody Bellinger, the Yankees' pivot away from Juan Soto in their outfield mix, cementing victory by lofting a grand slam directly over Soto's head to decide a three-game Subway Series in the affirmative.

2025 was the year of Bellinger vs. Soto head-to-head comparisons for good reason. 2026 and beyond? Bellinger will certainly be compared directly to the other expensive outfielder to hit the open market when the season ended: Kyle Tucker. Scott Boras tried his darnedest to sell Bellinger's free agency in accordance with Tucker's whims, even going so far as to call his client the only five-tool outfielder on the market. In the end, Tucker's Dodgers deal didn't affect Bellinger all that much (other than eliminating a potential landing spot in a bidding war); the Yankees didn't cave, but they did hand Bellinger a hefty luxury tax-inducing 2026 contract total that surprised us all.

And what was the very first frame of the Yankees' Bellinger "welcome home" video, you might ask?

"Tucker back ... he's on the track ..." You can't tell me that wasn't included with a healthy hint of irony.

Yankees' Cody Bellinger "Welcome Home!" video features ironic home run over Kyle Tucker

Yes, Bellinger's homer capped a three-dinger night against the Cubs, his former team. It was one of his season highlights, with or without the troll included. But this video didn't include all three homers. It wasn't a Belli best-of. All the Yankees needed for this social clip was a singular home run to right field, of which Bellinger provided many last season. The ballpark fit is one of the main reasons his return made so much sense. They had a lot to choose from. And they chose to present Tucker, drifting back and watching it go.

This is not at all dissimilar to the Yankees' 2025 playoff hype video, which zeroed in and lingered on a shot of Max Fried locking up Soto during the Subway Series. Was it a defining moment of the season? No, not really. Was it fun to watch the Shufflin' One get baffled? Absolutely. Petty and precise.

Ideally, the Bellinger-led Yankees run into Tucker's new team a few more times down the line. It would be nice if Bellinger could run into one a few times during those future series as well.